Using a variety of cases from history and today's life, the book examines character attackers targeting the private lives, behavior, values, and identity of their victims. Numerous historical examples show that character assassination has always been a very effective weapon to win political battles or settle personal scores.

This edited collection examines corruption in the public sector, assessing case studies from across the globe in order to provide an international perspective on this worldwide issue. Case studies include an examination of how corruption has been minimized in Singapore and Hong Kong; an assessment of corruption in India under Modi, who was elected on a promise to reduce corruption; a study of corruption in Bangladesh, and an evaluation of attempts to curb corruption in South Africa. This collection also includes a comparative study of corruption in Brazil and Chile, and a global perspective on the development of ethical privacy policies in e-government. The original case studies included in this book are brought together in an effort to identify common themes that impinge upon the fight against corruption, despite the particular nuances of individual nations. The contributions included in this edited collection also cover themes that are not often studied, including corruption in government procurement, the nascent issue of the 'right to privacy' stemming from e-governance, and the proclivity of governments to hide behind Official Secrets Acts to withhold information - ostensibly guaranteed under the 'right to information' which is vital in the fight against corruption. Providing a broad overview on public sector corruption, including local and national perspectives, this edited collection is essential reading for scholars of both public policy and corruption worldwide.

Few concepts have witnessed a more dramatic resurgence of interest in recent year than corruption. It is, however, a concept that dates back to antiquity with this recent popularity representing the latest iteration in a long history of contestation over corruption. In one of the first surveys of the variable contours of meaning invested in the term, from antiquity through to the end of the eighteenth century, this book explores the significant role corruption has played in political discourse through the centuries. It finds that corruption was not always a concept particular to the abuse of public office, but was often applied to more nebulous fears of moral, spiritual and physical degeneration. This book marshals both historical and conceptual analysis to demonstrate a conceptual oscillation between restrictive 'public office' and expansive 'degenerative' connotations of corruption that persisted until the second half of the eighteenth century when the public office conception overtook and finally superseded the degenerative one. The result is a survey that is fundamental to the understanding of modern ideas of corruption and represents an invaluable tool to both students and scholars of the subject.

In the first book of its kind, Leo Huberts provides a critical synthesis of cutting-edge research on public sector integrity exploring issues such as the definition and importance of public sector integrity, the various methodological approaches to the field as well as considering the causes of for the violation of values associated with integrity.

Why have so few countries managed to leave systematic corruption behind, while in many others modernization is still a mere facade? How do we escape the trap of corruption, to reach a governance system based on ethical universalism? In this unique book, Alina Mungiu-Pippidi and Michael Johnston lead a team of eminent researchers on an illuminating path towards deconstructing the few virtuous circles in contemporary governance. The book combines a solid theoretical framework with quantitative evidence and case studies from around the world. While extracting lessons to be learned from the success cases covered, Transitions to Good Governance avoids being prescriptive and successfully contributes to the understanding of virtuous circles in contemporary good governance. Offering a balanced but always grounded perspective, this collection combines analytic narratives of existing virtuous circles and how they were established, with an analysis of the global evidence. In doing so the authors explain why governance is so resistant to change, and describe the lessons to be remembered for international anti-corruption efforts. Exploring the primacy of politics over economic development, and in order to understand how vicious circles can be broken, the expert contributions trace the progress of countries that have successfully transitioned. Unprecedentedly, this book goes beyond the tests of different variables to showcase human agency on every continent, and reveals why some nations make the best and others the worst of the same development legacies. This comprehensive examination of virtuous circles of governance will appeal to all scholars with an interest in transitions, democratization, anti-corruption and good governance. Policy-makers and practitioners in the fields of international development, good governance and democracy support will find it an invaluable resource. Contributors include: A. Bozzini, D. Bupuet Corleto, C. Goebel, M. Johnston, V. Kalnins, L. Khatib, A. Kupatadze, M. Martini, A. Mungiu-Pippidi, P. Navia, R. Pineiro, D. Sebudubudu, E. Villarreal, B.W. Wilson, J.-S. You

MSNBC counterterrorism analyst and New York Times bestselling author Malcolm Nance was the first person to blow the whistle on Russia's hacking of the 2016 election and to reveal Vladmir Putin's masterplan. Now, in THE PLOT TO COMMIT TREASON, Nance provides a detailed assessment of how Donald Trump lead a cabal of American financial charlatans, political opportunists and power-hungry sycophants to eagerly betray the nation in order to execute a Russian inspired plan to place him, a Kremlin-friendly President in power. It details an evidence-based conspiracy of a ravenously avaricious family leading an administration of political mercenaries who plotted to dismantle 244 years of American democracy and break up the American-led world order since WWII. Seduced by promises of riches dangled in front of them by Putin, the Trump administration has been was caught trying to use all of its political power to stop investigations by US Intelligence and the Special Counsel to conceal the greatest betrayal in American history: The sale of the American presidency to foreign adversaries. THE PLOT TO COMMIT TREASON will unscramble the framework and strategies used by the Republican Party and non-state conspirators, including Rudy Guiliani, Mitch McConnell, Jeff Sessions, and more. Nance's in-depth research and interviews with intelligence experts and insiders illustrate Trump's deep financial ties to Russia through his family's investments, the behaviours of his pro-Moscow associates and the carefully crafted seduction of numerous Americans by Russian intelligence led to work with Vladimir Putin to betray the nation. In what reads like a fast-paced geopolitical spy-thriller, Nance clarifies the spiders web of relationships both personal and financial (including Russia and American based mafia) that lead back to the Kremlin. THE PLOT TO COMMIT TREASON provides a step-by-step blueprint of how and why Trump will be brought to justice.

As governments actively collect and analyse more information about their populations than ever before, citizens struggle to defend their privacy and determine which state secrets are legitimate and which are not. Jurisdictional complexity, the inability of representatives to gain access to relevant information, citizens' relative lack of expertise, and the partisanship that exists between different government agencies make oversight difficult. Secrets and Democracy considers afresh the role that secrets play within liberal democracies and the impact this has on the public's 'right to know, ' the individual's 'right to privacy, ' and the government's penchant for secrecy and data collection. Now, perhaps more than ever, secrecy (and the disclosure of secrets) is in the public eye thanks to the phenomenon of WikiLeaks. However, this book places WikiLeaks in the context of centuries-old discussion of the necessity of secrecy, as well as contemporary debate concerning the relative merits of privacy, openness, transparency, and accountabilit

The corruption of public officials in the United States and its corrosive impact on public policy, political stability and democratic institutions, earns it a spot among the most critical public crises of the last decade. There have been scandals involving elected officials across the political spectrum from local elected officials up to the White House, involving conflicts of interest, campaign fundraising and political elections. At the heart of many scandals is the discretionary power of public officials to make decisions based on personal interest, often leading to corruption. Understanding the nature and etiology of corruption is important to drafting controls on discretion and rules for accountability. While strict regulation and oversight mechanisms have previously been designed to encourage ethical decision-making and punish violators, it is the media and citizens that have increasingly become modern mechanisms of accountability. Corruption of public governance not only undermines the effectiveness of the political system; it also results in corrupt public policymaking on the most pressing issues facing Americans today. This timely and insightful book provides the key elements needed to understand the nature and prevalence of corruption in public governance, as well as the devastating public policy consequences. The chapters explore the implications of public governance corruption on political stability, public trust, and policymaking, as well as recommendations for how to establish controls on discretion and strict regulation to increase accountability and corruption control in public governance.

Celebrating the original publication of Richard Joseph's seminal book "Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria," this state-of-the-field collection brings together leading scholars of Nigeria for a creative and robust engagement with the nation's experiments and experiences with liberal democracy. They explore a range of issues central to Nigerian politics today, including major developments since the 1980s, the role of petroleum, factors related to religion and class, and the question of whether prebendal clientelism is even a useful model for understanding the current state of Nigerian democracy. Across varied methodologies and disciplinary backgrounds, these and other pertinent questions receive a penetrating and comprehensive analysis.

All societies develop their own norms about what is fair behavior and what is not. Violations of these norms, including acts of corruption, can collectively be described as forms of 'grabbing'. This unique volume addresses how grabbing hinders development at the sector level and in state administration. The contributors - researchers and practitioners who work on the ground in developing countries - present empirical data on the mechanisms at play and describe different types of unethical practices.

The book's sixteen case studies explore why certain practices constitute forms of grabbing, what implications they have for the achievement of development goals, and how policy options should take the characteristics of grabbing into account. A broad range of sectors are covered, including extractive industries, construction, ports, utilities, finance, health, pharmaceuticals and education. The authors discuss political checks and balances, democratic elections and the law enforcement system, as well as the government s role in the allocation of land and as a development partner in other countries.

The volume's original approach makes it a valuable resource for researchers and students interested in development, economics, governance and corruption. Development aid practitioners, as well as politicians and public officials in developing countries, will find it a useful aid in their work.

Two aspects link together the notions of corruption and integrity from an epistemological perspective: the complexity of defining the two notions, and their richness in forms. This volume brings together the perspectives of six disciplines - business, political science, law, philosophy, anthropology and behavioural science - to the debate on integrity and corruption. The main goal is to promote a fruitful interdisciplinary dialogue on complex themes such as integrity and corruption in business and politics. The book investigates possible ways in which corruption and integrity apply to everyday practices, ideas and ideologies, and avoids the stigmatizations and oversimplifications that often plague these fields of research.

This book discusses parliamentary oversight and its role in curbing corruption in developing countries. Over the past decade, a growing body of research at the global and regional levels has demonstrated that parliamentary oversight is an important determinant of corruption and that effective oversight of public expenditure is an essential component of national anti-corruption strategies and programs. However, little research has been undertaken at the country level regarding how parliamentary oversight is undertaken, which oversight mechanisms are effective or on how national parliaments interact with other anti-corruption stakeholders. This book presents the results of a new large-scale, quantitative analysis which identifies the mechanisms through which institutional arrangements impact corruption, specifically through country case studies on the Caribbean region, Ghana, Myanmar, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. Addressing a gap in scholarly knowledge while presenting practical policy advice for parliaments and for anti-corruption assistance agencies, this book will be of use to scholars interested in development, anti-corruption, public finance, as well as members of parliament, anti-corruption practitioners, and organizations working in parliamentary strengthening.

The inability of many democratic governments in Africa to govern effectively has been an important factor in the many problems that the continent and its constituent countries have faced over the past decades. The question for scholars has been in learning what has caused the endemic failure of public institutions throughout Africa and understanding how to create good government in the future of the continent. Strongly supported by empirical evidence, this book challenges the existing literature on the subject by breaking with the traditional notion among academics that the key to good government in Africa is through the creation of unique administrative structures, or at the very least developing significantly adapted foreign structures with an emphasis on the specific structure of African societies. Instead the author contrasts this notion with theories from other research fields suggesting that public officials are likely to be interested in following professional norms and that organizations generally strive to imitate each other, regardless of geographical location. This book presents rich original empirical research from the field of state audit in Sub-Saharan Africa where the above different theoretical approaches are empirically explored. The research results contradict many assumptions made in the literature on development and points to the importance of adding other dimensions, such as professional norms, to nuance the discussion of the future of the African continent.

Recognising that corruption is a serious problem in the globalised world of the early twenty-first century, the book takes the reader on a journey - beginning with what corruption is, why its study is important and how it can be measured. From there it moves on to explore corruption's causes, its consequences and how it can be tackled - before discovering how these things are playing out in the established liberal democracies, in the former communist regimes and in the newly industrialised and 'developing' world. On the way it takes a couple of detours - first, to explore corruption's mechanisms and dynamics and second to survey the scandals to which it may give rise. The book is therefore offered as an informative 'travel guide' of potential interest to journalists and policy makers as well as to students and academics. -- .

A Prospect Book of the Year 'Never before, in years of reviewing books about buildings, has one brought me to tears. This one did.' Rowan Moore, Observer Book of the Week On 14 June 2017, a 24-storey block of flats went up in flames. The fire climbed up cladding as flammable as solid petrol. Fire doors failed to self-close. No alarm rang out to warn sleeping residents. As smoke seeped into their homes, all were told to 'stay put'. Many did - and they died. It was a disaster decades in the making. Peter Apps exposes how a steady stream of deregulation, corporate greed and institutional indifference caused this tragedy. It is the story of a grieving community forsaken by our government, a community still waiting for change.

Regardless of which political party Americans identify with, the sentiment that those who work in Washington are corrupt transcends partisanship. Since the breaking of the Watergate scandal, trust in the government has decreased significantly. While Congress did not engage in the Watergate break-in, the institution has still suffered the consequences, seeing citizens' distrust of politicians grow. However, Congress is not blameless, as it has had its share of scandal and corruption over the years. Scandal and Corruption in Congress guides readers through the history of corruption in Congress. Specifically, readers explore policies outlawing corruption, how Congress has attempted to hide unethical behaviour, getting caught, the repercussions of getting caught, and how corruption in the U.S. compares to corruption in other nations. Finally, to enlighten readers about the recent actions by Congress, several chapters address the impact of Citizens United and the #MeToo movement.

John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Although it's not the first time the legendary detective has taken the law into his own hands, it might be the last. What drove a good man to cross the line? Or have times changed, and the rules with them? Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke faces Edinburgh's most explosive case in years, as a corrupt cop goes missing after claiming to harbour secrets that could sink the city's police force. But in this investigation, it seems all roads lead to Rebus - and Clarke's twin loyalties to the public and the police will be tested to their limit. A reckoning is coming - and John Rebus may be hearing the call for last orders...

Offering a single, coherent framework of the political, economic, and social phenomena that characterize post-communist regimes, this is the most comprehensive work on the subject to date. Focusing on Central Europe, the post-Soviet countries and China, the study provides a systematic mapping of possible post-communist trajectories. At exploring the structural foundations of post-communist regime development, the work discusses the types of state, with an emphasis on informality and patronalism; the variety of actors in the political, economic, and communal spheres; the ways autocrats neutralize media, elections, etc. The analysis embraces the color revolutions of civil resistance (as in Georgia and in Ukraine) and the defensive mechanisms of democracy and autocracy; the evolution of corruption and the workings of "relational economy"; an analysis of China as "market-exploiting dictatorship"; the sociology of "clientage society"; and the instrumental use of ideology, with an emphasis on populism. Beyond a cataloguing of phenomena-actors, institutions, and dynamics of post-communist democracies, autocracies, and dictatorships-Magyar and Madlovics also conceptualize everything as building blocks to a larger, coherent structure: a new language for post-communist regimes. While being the most definitive book on the topic, the book is nevertheless written in an accessible style suitable for both beginners who wish to understand the logic of post-communism and scholars who are interested in original contributions to comparative regime theory. The book is equipped with QR codes that link to www.postcommunistregimes.com, which contains interactive, 3D supplementary material for teaching.

The present volume provides a collection of material on the subject of international comparisons, contributed by scholars from a range of relevant disciplines and geographical backgrounds. The papers in this volume have been classified into two broad groups united by overlapping themes. Part I includes essentially empirical papers intended to provide a clear picture of the different types of international comparisons that have been undertaken by various organizations and individuals. The papers relate to empirical studies of different sectoral and national income aggregates at both regional and global levels. The papers in Part II deal with methodological and analytical issues. Discussion of the appropriateness of various aggregation methods for international comparisons accounts for a major component of this section. The volume provides a set of studies on international comparisons of prices, output and productivity, and will provide a reference source for interested readers.

Corruption is the biggest single obstacle to development, while money laundering is at the heart of all profit-driven crime. The failure to appreciate the intimate linkages between these two crimes has undermined international efforts to combat these global scourges. Through a policy and legal analysis, this book shows how corruption facilitates money laundering and vice versa. It demonstrates how strategies utilized to counter one type of financial crime can be adapted to fight the other. Chaikin and Sharman provide a pioneering evaluation of the current systems from multi-disciplinary perspective based on professional experience and extensive interviews.

Understanding and responding to corruption is a worldwide challenge. This book offers a general overview of the nature, pattern, and differing perspectives on political and economic corruption. Providing detail and depth, the book examines and compares corruption in four countries: the United States, Israel, Russia, and India. Each country chapter explores how corruption is defined and understood in that country and provides case material illustrating corrupt practice and responses to it. The country chapters also cover whistleblowing activities, their prevalence, importance, and impact. A comparative analysis presents the most prominent factors contributing to a reduced level of corruption and the factors that lead to whistleblower success.